History of Science & Exploration

From astronomy to zoology and from the exploration of distant continents to the natural history of our own backyard in Ohio, Kent State’s Special Collections and Archives includes a wide range of historical books and manuscripts for students to discover. These materials trace the progress of the scientific revolution and record pivotal moments in the history of human knowledge. In addition to being highly valued for the information they contain, the historical books are also an important record of the history of printing and illustration in Europe, which was intricately linked to the spread of scientific ideas in the early modern world.

While the history of science, technology, and exploration is very much about big ideas and breakthroughs, it is also about the many people throughout history who dedicated countless hours to investigation and observation of the world around them. The collections include works by prominent scientists and explorers alongside those of citizen scientists and little-known, but exceptionally skilled, amateur natural history artists.